Crime and punishment and weird games

Tamamo stared across the table at Alma Elma. Tamamo had her game face on. So did Alma Elma. Tamamo had planned to leave, but decided that she missed her old friends, long dead in her world. It couldn't hurt to linger a bit longer. Alas, Alma Elma and Granberia weren't the kind to wear their emotions on their sleeves, and in any case, they had a Tamamo in their world. They had no way of truly understanding how she felt, seeing them after all these centuries. The only way to truly bond with them was to compete with them. She'd already sparred with Granberia. This was her way of sparring with Alma Elma.

Tamamo knew she had an advantage. This game had only become a tradition between the two after Tamamo had been unsealed. The game was simple. Arrayed before them were ten shrunken men, five on each side. It was really just a more perverted version of the cherry stem tying game. Instead of cherries, they used men, forcing them to orgasm in their mouths. Whoever got the most ejaculations in five minutes won.

In addition to the rather perplexed and slightly fearful shrunken males, there was a stack of poker chips. Since the opponents couldn't speak, what with their mouths being full, they indicated that a man had ejaculated by placing down a poker chip. At the end, whoever had the higher stack won.

Tamamo was confident. She won against her Alma Elma more often than not. This one was playing for the first time, or at least she assumed. One could never know with the Queen Succubus. There was very little she hadn't done that involved making men ejaculate, and she often challenged other succubi to various games like this. Although the Queen Succubus made a great show of not caring about anything, Tamamo knew that in her way she was as competitive as Granberia.

"Before we start, I just want to thank you for doing this with me," Alma Elma said. "Granberry refuses to play these kinds of games, and our Tamamo has never expressed any interest."

"She feels a little self conscious in her diminished form," Tamamo confided. "She's not averse to using her sexual skills to feed or in combat, but doing it just for fun…. She's reluctant. I only got into this kind of play after I became unsealed."

"It must have been so liberating to have your true body back," Alma Elma said. "The Dark God is back. I wonder if our Tamamo will ask her to unseal her?"

"I'm sure she will in time," Tamamo answered. "But I think she doesn't want to be identical to the bad version of herself that dwells on this world with her. I have to admit, it took me awhile to be able to look at this form in the mirror and not be revolted. The things I did in this body…. When you are put into a child's body, you have the brain of a child too. There was an innocence. Being sealed probably did as much to reform me as anything. I didn't get my body back by choice. I was simply… unsealed one day. Your Tamamo gets to choose when to be restored. She'll take her time, but eventually she'll do it."

"Okay, are we ready?" Alma Elma asked. "Hello there, little men, are you ready?"

"Um…. Is this safe?" one of the men asked.

"You've been through worse," Alma Elma answered.

Indeed, these were men from the pocket castle, and they'd grown strong from being drained by all kinds of monsters who had dwelt with them in the castle during the Paradox adventure. Most had chosen to remain, and many of the monsters had chosen to remain as well. Who could turn down a reliable, free food source and great accommodations?

"What they want to hear is that they won't die," Tamamo retorted. "Guys, you won't die. It's going to be a wonderful time, just like always."

"Better!" Alma Elma corrected her. "Because today you're getting sucked dry by the Queen Succubus or an Ancestor."

"I'm definitely okay with that!" one of the younger men said eagerly.

"Great! You can be first then!" Alma Elma laughed, picking him up in her hand and popping him in her mouth like a bon-bon.

"Wait, you didn't say go!" Tamamo exclaimed, scooping up a little man of her own and putting him inside her mouth.

Her tongue immediately went to work, cupping him while the tip did incredible things all over his body. Tamamo could see that Alma Elma was furiously working her tongue as well. Her mouth was closed, but there was a lot of movement in there, between her tongue and the man's thrashing.

Alma Elma slapped down her first chip. Tamamo folded her tongue over the man's lower body. The roughness of her tongue gave her another advantage, as she tasted his semen within seconds. Tamamo slapped down a chip. The score was 1-1.

Since the man seemed to really like the folding technique, Tamamo kept it up, her rough tongue rubbing up and down over this lower body. Tamamo slapped down a second chip. 2-1.

Although the three orgasms rule supposedly didn't apply to oral, Tamamo still, out of habit, took the first man out and picked up a second. The trick here was recognizing that no two men were alike. Some liked one technique, others liked different techniques. Some would be somewhat more difficult because they didn't like the whole concept, which would have killed their boner if not for the fact that Tamamo was so skilled. The second man proved to be no problem at all. Tamamo slapped down a third chip, to Alma Elma's dismay. 3-1.

Alma Elma's second chip followed ten seconds later. She too spit her first man out, hoping that the second would be easier to make come. Tamamo enjoyed playing with the more experienced men. Having been drained by monsters for months, they were a little harder to satisfy than random men plucked out of a random village. Even so, the two competitors were averaging only thirty seconds per ejaculation so far.

Tamamo performed a quick twisting motion with the tip of her tongue in his groin area. 4-2. Alma Elma frowned and forced her man into her cheek with her tongue, rubbing his whole body against the side of it. 4-3.

Tamamo was on her third man, and this one was easy. He must have been quite turned on by this game, or he just really loved fox girls, because she had two more chips down in just fifteen seconds. Alma Elma only put down one. 6-4.

Alma Elma also drew her third male, but began to grow frustrated as he took forever to come. A full minute for the first ejaculation, two for the second. Tamamo was having a little more trouble with her fourth man as well, but not nearly as much, since she was so good at this game. Halfway through the match, it was 8-6.

Tamamo was down to her last man. Alma Elma drew her fourth. There was still a minute to go. Tamamo didn't like breaking her three orgasms rule, but she would not lose. Tamamo sped up, working her tongue furiously all around the man's body, concentrating her rough tip on his weak spots.

Alma Elma had begun to suck, which could be effective, but could also backfire, as the pressure change could cause his ears to pop and distract him from the pleasure. But the succubus was good. 8-7. Tamamo tasted the delicious saltiness on her tongue again and slapped down a ninth chip. 9-7. Thirty seconds to go.

Tamamo giggled triumphantly as she felt him ejaculate again. 10-7. Victory was assured. Only twenty seconds left and Alma Elma was down by three.

Then, to Tamamo's horror, Alma Elma swallowed. Tamamo reflexively spit out her last man. "Alma Elma! We promised!"

Alma Elma said nothing, slapping down a chip. 10-8. Three seconds later, another chip. 10-9. Then another, and another.

"I win!" Alma Elma shouted. "In your face, kitsune!"

"You cheated! And broke a promise!" Tamamo protested. "That poor man!"

"Oh, lighten up," Alma Elma giggled. Her stomach began to make noises. Alma Elma briefly concentrated, and burped. Her tail flexed. A small form could be seen moving through the tail. Placing her tail mouth over the table, she expelled the little man onto the table, quite alive.

"Ahhh….." he moaned. "That was the greatest thing…. That has ever happened to me…."

"You still cheated!" Tamamo yelled.

"Now I don't know your Alma Elma, but I'm sure she didn't always play fair either," Alma Elma said slyly.

"Well…. Yes, she did cheat a lot. And always in extremely inventive ways, but…. You swallowed!"

"It's what a succubus does, my dear fox," Alma Elma said seductively. At least six of the ten men became hard again instantly.

"Rematch!" Tamamo pleaded.

"Fine," Alma Elma replied. "Get ten more. But this time, I'm adding a new rule. We get to… distract each other with our tails while we suck on the men. That'll make the game much more interesting."

"You really think that succubus tail can compare to my special fluffy tail?!" Tamamo asked in disbelief.

"It's not what you've got, sister, it's how you use it," Alma Elma said, which caused the remaining three men to grow hard again as well.

"You're on!" Tamamo roared, displaying her special fluffy tail for Alma Elma to see. "And no swallowing!"

"No swallowing," Alma Elma agreed.

"Servants!" Tamamo called. "Bring us ten more!"

Tamamo shivered. Alma Elma was already cheating again, her tail beginning to suck on Tamamo's genitals even before the game started. Tamamo retaliated immediately, her special fluffy tail probing under Alma Elma's short skirt and finding her own weak spot.

"Guh…." Alma Elma gasped. Tamamo flashed her first evil smile in centuries at the succubus.

Alma Elma quivered. Tamamo slapped down a chip.

"What?! That doesn't count!" Alma Elma protested.

"Sure it does," Tamamo said evilly. "It was an orgasm. I caused it."

"Oh, so that's how we're playing it!" Alma Elma exclaimed, her tail mouth sucking ferociously, causing Tamamo to begin shaking.

Alma Elma slapped down a chip. "Game on!" 1-1.

Albert gazed into the distance. It had been almost a year since his crazy adventure on other worlds. While it had been quite the lark, he'd also learned some things. Things he intended to utilize to make his own world better. Despite his flippant airs, he took his job very seriously. It was hard work keeping male monsters from raping every female in sight. Only the respect and fear he elicited from his subordinates kept them in line. Previous monster lords had often permitted monsters to misbehave. Albert understood the stakes, however. There was a very hostile god out there, and he was enraged when his followers were mistreated. Thinking objectively, Albert couldn't blame him.

Albert took to the skies and began looking around. Every year he did the same thing. It was the only time of year where he knew where the god would be. Heaven was inaccessible to anyone who wasn't an angel. But once per year, the god Elias went to the temple to bless his new heroes. Albert always intercepted him.

Sure enough, Elias was taking the same path he always did. It made sense. Albert never got the better of these confrontations, yet he still found it so satisfying to give Elias a piece of his mind(and fist) once per year. Elias would give back ten times more than he got, but Albert still thought it was a fair trade. But this year was different. This time, Albert would try a different approach.

Far above the clouds, Albert intercepted Elias. Elias grinned in anticipation.

"Are we really doing this again this year?" Elias asked.

Albert appraised the god. He hadn't directly met the Easy Mode world's Ilias in her Elias form, so he didn't know what her male form looked like. But he'd heard that Easy Mode Elias was impossibly handsome, with soft, almost feminine features(at least his facial features. His body was absolutely ripped) that probably looked absolutely delicious to female monsters on that world. Of course, that was Ilias' intent in creating that form.

But his Elias had not chosen such a form. He was still blonde, still quite handsome, but his features were hard and severe. His eyes were not soft, but piercing, his face hawkish and sharp, with a prominent , square jaw. His face rarely smiled, possibly never smiled. Albert had certainly never seen him smile. Only that evil grin before Elias punched him clear across the world. Well, not this year, Albert thought confidently.

"Actually, Elias old buddy…" Albert said. "I'm not here to hit you this year."

"You're not? Then why are you here?" Elias asked suspiciously.

"I just want to talk," Albert said. "You're a hard guy to reach, you know. I even prayed, but you didn't answer."

"I don't listen to the prayers of abominations like you," Elias said bitterly. "Get to the point. I have an errand to attend to."

"I know, I know," Albert said. "Look, I don't know if you noticed, but last year I was away for awhile."

"I did happen to notice that your hateful presence was absent from this world," Elias confirmed. "My hopes were dashed when you returned. It doesn't matter in any case. There's always another one of you."

"Yeah, I get it, you hate me."

"I hate all monsters. But you in particular, yes."

"I get it!" Albert repeated. "My predecessors, some of them were bad dudes! But I don't roll that way! Look, while I was away, I learned some things."

"Oh, I can't wait to hear this," Elias said haughtily, folding his arms.

"I saw worlds where humans and monsters got along! I even found out about a world where the Monster Lord and the local god are friends! Can you imagine!"

"You're starting to bore me."

"I understand where you're coming from on this whole monster vs. humans thing," Albert continued. "You've been around forever! You've seen the worst of us! But you've also seen the best of us! How about instead of trying to murder us all, you work with us to make a better world!"

"Even were I to trust your intentions," Elias said coldly. "You are mortal. Whatever good we do will be undone when one of your successors decides that human women are simply pieces of meat to stick your dirty cocks in, or worse, eat! No, I'm afraid the only way to make this world a better place is to remove you and all your kind from it, forever!"

"How's that been working out for you so far? I mean, your heroes… they kinda suck."

"Oh, but a new one is arising," Elias said, his voice ascending in volume. "A female! She will be this world's salvation! She will slay you and any who would succeed you! She will become more powerful than any of you can cope with, almost like a god herself! Not quite as powerful as me, you understand. No one can be more powerful than God."

"Oh no, of course not," Albert replied. "But let me stop you right there. This lady's name wouldn't be Luka by any chance, would it?"

"Close. Her name is Lucy."

"Ah, cool, cool," Albert said. "Look, I don't know how to tell you this, but…. That's not going to work out at all like you hope."

"Foolish mortal!" Elias roared. "You think you can foil my divine plans! My plans are more complex than your puny brain can possibly imagine!"

"That may be true, but it's still going to fail."

"Will not."

"Will too."

"Will n-! Why am I even arguing with you? You are beneath me!"

Albert sighed in frustration.

"Man, you are one stubborn motherfucker," he said as calmly as he could.

"So are you going to punch me or what?" Elias asked. "I really have someplace to be."

"No. I'm not going to punch you," Albert said firmly. "I'm going to be the better man this time. In fact, I want to be your friend."

"My…. Has travel between universes scrambled your pea brain?!" Elias roared.

"I know it's possible," Albert countered. "I've seen it. You know what you need, Elias? You need what made those other versions of yourself a better person. You need to get laid."

"Y-You…. I…. you dare profane my holy presence with such…. Vulgarity?!"

"Hey, I'm just sayin'," Albert said. "you're the way you are because you know a lot but understand little."

"I understand that you tempt women into shameful, perverted acts!" Elias yelled. "Whether it's rape, or supposedly consensual, it's still an abomination for a woman to lie with a monster!"

"You only say that because you haven't done it yet."

"I should slay you right now!" Elias roared.

"You won't, because you can't," Albert said confidently. "I know all about you, thanks to your much more enlightened counterpart. You don't want to wake HIM up."

"You… you know about… HIM?!"

"I know a ton of stuff, dude. So here's what you should do. Change into that cute female form I know you can adopt.."

"Wh-What?!"

"And let me show you some love, baby!"

Elias sputtered and spat, seemingly at a loss for words. His eyes glowed dangerously with holy energy. Albert feared he might actually lose control and incinerate him.

"Okay, okay, calm down!" Albert urged. "I know it's a lot! But you can change form. That form you walk around in, it's not real, right?"

"My true form is something on mortal can gaze upon without going mad!" Elias yelled.

"Which means you can be a… beautiful lady if you wanted to, right?" Albert prodded.

"Well… yes. It is possible. I've never done it, but I can take any form I wish, yes," Elias replied uncomfortably.

"Then baby, get your woman on and let's get it on!" Albert said enthusiastically.

"I'm definitely going to hurt you now," Elias said.

"I even wrote a song about it!" Albert exclaimed. "Want to hear it, hear it goes!

I'll make love to you,

Like you want me to,

And Ill hold you tight,

Baby all through the n-!"

The forest was peaceful. Birds chirped as they flitted about from tree to tree, searching for small bits of food. Deer fed on leaves, their senses telling them there were no predators about other than a relatively harmless slime, who preferred fish anyway and rarely attacked mammals.

The slime heard it first. It was a keening scream, coming from a great distance, but drawing closer. The slime looked up. Something flew through the air at impossible speed across the horizon.

A few miles away, the deer stopped feeding and sniffed the air, their ears craning. They hard it too. A long, drawn out yell that was distant but drawing closer. The deer, cautious by nature, dashed off to find safety.

The birds heard it last, but reacted with no less alacrity, flying off, seeking to put as much distance between themselves and the sound as they could.

Although there were no humans who could hear it, the sound would have been audible by then. Any smart human would have begun running away, following the example of the birds and deer. It was a good thing no humans were about, because most humans weren't that smart.

The sound grew in volume as the supersonic form sped towards the ground. It hit the ground with a tremendous BOOM!, sending soil and leaves everywhere for hundreds of feet. Fortunately, the shock wasn't enough to severely damage the nearby trees. Only weak branches broke off. Some of the skinner trees bent and whipped back into place after the impact.

Albert looked up at the sky from the crater he found himself in. He was pretty sure it was the same crater he always ended up in. Despite his efforts, this year had gone the same way every year went, except this time he hadn't had the satisfaction of punching that damn god. Well, next year he'd have to give him one twice as hard!

Elias heard something approach. He looked to his left. His vision was blurry, but even the form of her was lovely, beautiful beyond his imagining.

"Lucy?" he asked tentatively. Was it already time for this part of his destiny to be fulfilled?

"Maybe next year," a more familiar voice replied. Albert squinted. The form looked more familiar now. It was the lovely female form of the goddess Ilias.

"Elias?" Albert asked. "Did you change your mind?"

Ilias laughed bitterly. "That version of me is full of so much toxic masculinity that he'll never change his mind," Ilias replied. "I'm here because I knew you'd try something this foolish. So I decided to come and comfort you."

"You… came to comfort… me?" Albert asked. "But we barely know each other. Why would you care about me?"

"I have my reasons," she replied. "My own version of Alice, she's…. friend zoned me. And as much as I love running around as a man and getting raped by monsters, I still prefer this female form. I still prefer to be made love to…. As a woman."

Albert sprang up with renewed energy. "Woman, you are talking my language! Your place or mine!?"

"Mine," Ilias said, tackling Albert back into the crater. Albert had the almost imperceptbie feeling of being translated into a different world. Ilias' magic was so powerful and subtle that he barely noticed.

"Ilias, did you…?"

"We're on my world," she said.

"But… there's a crater here, too," Albert said uncertainly.

"So there is," Ilias confirmed. "It takes more than a year for the ground to recover. Last year I kinda had to…. Throw Alice over here."

"Ah, for the quest. I get it."

"There'll be time for talk later," Ilias said, pulling Albert towards her. "I'm horny. Do what you do!"

"Oh, you can't handle all I do!" Albert said enthusiastically. "But here's what I can do…

I'll make love to you,

Like you want me t-"

"Please don't do that," Ilias ordered.

Albert awakened, feeling very satisfied with himself. He'd never known how much he'd wanted to bed a goddess until he'd done it. She had been amazing. He hadn't been so bad himself, he was sure. His world's god should have taken him up on his offer. Didn't know what he was missing. She was missing. Aw, hell, gender bending gods and goddess were so confusing!

Albert felt the goddess' warm body against his. He turned, intending to hold her. He screamed as he came face to face with Elias.

"AHHH! Don't do that to me!" Albert screamed.

"Hey there, buddy. Bud. Good bud," Elias replied, a disturbing smile on his face.

"Can you please stick to the hot female form? I only just made love to you!" Albert pleaded. "Waking pu next to a man….. Not what I was looking for this morning!"

"That was yesterday, this is today!" Elias said.

"Can you at least put your clothes on!?" Albert pleaded.

"Oh, sorry," Elias said, waving his hand over his body. "How's this?"

"It's fine!" Albert said, crawling out of the crater, looking for clothes of his own and remembering that he wore none. Something which he was normally comfortable doing, but for some reason not nearly as eager to do it around the male form of someone he'd just had sex with. At least Elias was now fully dressed.

"Why are you even in your male form?" Albert asked testily. "I thought you preferred your female form."

"I do!" Elias confirmed. "But today's a special day! Last night, we made love."

"We made love most of the day, too," Albert corrected her.

"Yes, our stamina is very impressive," Elias agreed. "But today is a new day! Today we bond… as manly men!"

"Uh… huh."

"How would you like to go fishing, my dashing male buddy?" Elias asked.

"Okay, first off…." Albert said. "Men do not talk to each other that way. Ever. As for fishing… all right, I can do that."

"Sorry, this having friends thing is new to me," Elias said apologetically. "Fishing it is!"

Instantly Albert found himself on a small boat in the middle of the ocean.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" he asked.

"When you can do anything with a snap of your fingers, why wouldn't you do everything immediately?" Elias asked. "But that's it for the holy power. I don't want to spook our quarry. They get antsy when they detect holy power."

"Fish know when there are angels around?" Albert asked.

"Fish? We're not looking for fish today, my handsome, luscious buddy."

"Okay, again, men do not talk that way to each other, Elias. Ever. So what are we fishing for, if not…. Fish? And could you conjure us some fishing poles, some bait and tackle?"

"Looks like you've already got a great pole," Elias observed, noting Albert's ridiculously long member.

"Okay, again, men don't…"

"Talk to each other that way, I know," Elias said, smirking. "But this time I'm not just admiring your cock. I'm admiring your pole."

"I don't understand."

"Observe," Elias said, removing his pants and dumping his even larger member into the water.

"Dude, are you out of your mind?!" Albert exclaimed. "Something'll bite you!"

"That's the idea," Elias said confidently. "Ah, I can already feel some tugging on the 'line'."

Albert looked and not only was Elias' rod obviously being tugged on, but it was growing larger from the tugging. The tugging was gentle, tentative even, but Albert could sense that what was pulling on Elias was big. Really big.

"See, this is fun!" Elias laughed. "Go ahead, drop yours in-!"

Suddenly, Elias was pulled roughly into the water. The large creature that had him began thrashing around, swimming to and fro as Elias struggled.

"Man, he is really commited to the bit," Albert observed in wonder, knowing that Elias could zap the monster and force it to free him with ease. Yet he was struggling as a human would struggle. Futilely.

"Do you want any help?" Albert called when he saw Elias' head appear above the water, being carried at high speed parallel to the small boat.

"I've got her right where I want her!" Elias called, before being pulled under again.

The water bubbled. There was one more brief struggle, and then silence. The silence was interrupted by a large belch that sent countless bubbles to the surface. Then the large creature was gone, and Elias with her.

"Damn," Albert breathed. "He was a good dude, too. I'm gonna miss that guy. I should really sing a tribute to him.

Oh Elias, Elias!

You were…. so great in my…. Uh eye-uhz!

Nope, that's all I got."

Albert turned around, looking for oars to row himself back to shore. Instead, he came face to face with Elias.

"Ahhhh!" Albert screamed again. "Stop doing that to me!"

"I'm a goddess," Elias said, flashing his big smile. "You didn't think killing me actually got rid of me, did you?"

"Bro! That bitch just ate you! And you just pop back here like it's no big deal?!"

"Getting eaten is awesome!" Elias insisted. "Well, at least for me it is. I just go back to heaven and get my divinity back. If you want to experience it, I can resurrect you. It's really no problem. It's what a friend does for a friend."

"Yeah, vore isn't among my fetishes," Albert replied, a dubious look on his face.

"Well, if I'm being honest," Elias said. "Getting eaten wasn't in my plans for today. But you know those monster girls! They never eat you when you want to be eaten, but when you don't want to get eaten they are there to gobble you up all the same! Am I right?"

"I wouldn't know."

"No, no, of course you wouldn't," Elias conceded. "Your world has tamer monsters. Good job, by the way. You're a good monster lord."

"Thank you. Can you take me home now?"

"Home? But the day's just started!" Elias protested. "I haven't even shown you true fishing yet!"

"I'm not putting my dick in the water for just anything to grab it," Albert said firmly. "Mine isn't some abstract creation that you can just recreate if it gets bitten off."

"Oh, live a little!" Elias said encouragingly. "Here, let's try this again. Oh, could you sniff the air, or water, or do whatever it is you do? I can use my god senses, but it would chase the monsters away. So I'm a little blind here."

Albert sniffed the ocean air.

"Hmmm…. Definitely mermaids in the area. That large thing is off in the distance. Not sure what that was."

"Honestly, I didn't get a good look at her either," Elias admitted. "But man, she ate me so good."

"Well, it looks like there's nothing large and carnivorous in the area now," Albert said. "So if you're going to dip your pole in again, now's as good a time as any."

"Thanks, good buddy!" Elias said jovially, dropping his 'pole' into the water again.

"So this is what a god does for fun?" Albert asked dubiously.

"We gods have refined tastes, yes," Elias answered. "Besides, it's my duty to take care of my creations. Feeding them is part of taking care of them. I do this out of the goodness of my heart, you know."

"Oh, I'm sure."

Elias paused and sighed. "Ah, there she is. Mermaids don't waste any time. Food is scarce in the oceans, you know. Humans live on land."

"Is she…?" Albert asked. He could see the shape under the water. She wasn't alone. Others were starting to gather.

"Oh yeah…." Elias said with a knowing smile. Her soft lips were kissing the head of his penis already. "Go ahead, take a chance. I can always give it back to you if you lose it."

"That's not how I roll," Albert said. "Let me show you how I fish!"

The head of Albert's penis opened, revealing a mouth like orifice. He didn't drop it into the water. It darted into the water. With satisfaction, Albert reeled in a very pretty mermaid indeed.

"I…. what the hell is that?!" Elias blurted.

"I'm a man, baby! I'm proactive! I don't wait for the fish to bite. I bite first!" Albert said proudly, a mermaid hanging helplessly from the end of his penis, her face covered by the orifice almost completely.

"You can't just grab a mermaid!" Elias protested. "It has to be consensual!"

"it is!" Albert countered. "You can't see it, but she's sucking on the head."

"Is she?" Elias asked, inspecting Albert more closely. Not only was she sucking, both hands were stroking as well.

"You have got to show me how to do that!" Elias exclaimed excitedly.

Ilias returned to heaven feeling happier than she'd ever felt in her entire existence. It was a strange feeling. For a being as ancient as she was, she was rediscovering herself. Despite Alice's rejection of a sexual relationship with her, the goddess found herself to be surprisingly undisappointed. Alice had declared her friendship. Not that Ilias had any intention of settling for being permanently friend zoned. The goddess would simply have to change the focus of her eternal scheming. Instead of plotting to destroy the Monster Lord, she would plot to get into her pants. Not that Alice wore pants, but it was the best cliché Ilias could think of at the moment.

But returning to Heaven, other thoughts preoccupied the goddess. Most important among them was what to do with her two prisoners. She found their very presence on her world distasteful. She knew for certain that she wanted Tamamo off of it entirely. There was only room on her world for one seven tailed kitsune and even the good one tried her patience. But Sariela….. Ilias couldn't help but to feel responsible for her behavior. The aspect of her that had once been the goddess of Angel World had created Sariela to be what she was. Could Ilias then blame her for being exactly what she was supposed to be?

Such reflection was new to the goddess. In the past, all she would have needed to know was that Sariela had angered her. Then she could direct her righteous wrath appropriately and end Sariela's existence, thus removing the annoyance. Tamamo, on the other hand, was someone else's problem. It was time to have a discussion with that someone else.

Evil Tamamo sulked in her cell. Sariela slept in the far corner. It wasn't that she was being mistreated. After the initial punishment of being forced to find sustenance inside her partner in crime, the angels had begun feeding her regularly with a variety of fruits, breads, and vegetables. She would have a strong craving for semen in a week, but Tamamo had confidence that she wouldn't be in the cell that long. The goddess wasn't known for keeping prisoners, at least not in such conventional conditions. Tamamo was sure that Ilias had a cruel punishment in mind for her.

The goddess appeared suddenly in front of the cell and dropped the energy field. Tamamo stood up, mustering as much dignity as she could to face Ilias. Sariela continued to snooze.

"Have you come to dish out your final punishment?" Tamamo asked. "I wonder what it will be? Banishing my soul to a Sinner's Prison? Burning me alive again? Or do you have more creative tortures in mind?"

"You hurt me, Tamamo," Ilias replied, nearly shaking with rage. "No, that's wrong. I have to learn that everything isn't about me. You didn't hurt me at all. You… vexed me. You interfered with my plans. The person you really hurt was Luka. Someone I love very much."

"He vexed me as well! I was only taking what was rightfully mine! My revenge! But you've won, so I guess now you get to take yours. So again, I ask… what will it be? How will I be punished?"

"I'm not going to punish you at all, actually," Ilias replied.

"I don't understand," Tamamo said suspiciously.

"Since you did hurt Luka, I thought…. What would Luka do in this situation?" Ilias explained. "Luka, as you know, isn't the type to seek revenge. In fact, he has this enraging habit of forgiving everyone who hurts him. So out of respect for Luka, I… forgive you."

"You've got to be putting me on," Tamamo said accusingly. "I'm not an idiot, goddess! I know you have something planned for me!"

"I specifically do not," Ilias replied calmly. "I've already punished you enough."

"I can read right through those weasel words!" Tamamo exclaimed. "Okay, so you're not punishing me! Who will? Eden?"

"Eden? Oh Heaven's no. Eden only knows how to punish one way. And such punishment would be most ineffective on you."

"Who then? Valkyrie? Maybe Promestein has rigged up some crazy device?"

"Tamamo, for all your years of existence, all your centuries, you are so immature," Ilias declared. "Your feelings warred between gratifude for Luka and hate. Instead of choosing to simply declare the scales balanced and leave him be, you came from another fucking universe to harass him."

"it wasn't my idea! It was your angel's here!"

"And now you seek to shift responsibility? For shame, Tamamo. I know of only one way to deal with someone as immature as you. I called your mom."

"You called my-? Oh no!"

"Oh yes, my wayward child," Alipheese said, appearing next to Ilias.

"Moooommmm!!!!" Tamamo whined. "You saw what he did to me! He ruined my face! He brutalized me!"

"You know better than that, Tammy. You attacked him."

"How can you be so calm about what he did?!" Tamamo persisted. "He ruined our plans!"

"And thereby saved us all," the Dark God countered. "I was able to deny myself vengeance. I have even come to see that Luka was right to do what he did. You should have done the same. As Ilias said, the scales were balanced. He saved everyone and everything you loved. His defeat of you was necessary to accomplish that."

"So we have a difference of opinion!" Tamamo argued. "You're not Ilias! You don't demand that we do as you do! You've always let us make our own decisions! There's no reason for you to have anything to do with any of this!"

"You misunderstand me, daughter," Alipheese explained. "It is true that I do not control the six of you directly by giving you orders prohibiting this or that behavior. But I do expect you to honor our traditions and values. Your twisted interpretation of our value system is something I'd expect from baser, more primitive monsters. Not an Ancestor. You know better. Since you couldn't demonstrate the basic maturity of a juvenile kitsune, you have embarrassed me. Do you realize the potential for harm your actions could have caused? You could have brought Ilias and I into conflict once again!"

"I…. you're right, mother," Tamamo conceded, her shoulder slumping, her tails sagging. "I let my anger and resentment get the better of me. I'll apologize to Luka."

"One day, yes you will," the Dark God agreed. "But not today. He's already confused enough. I want to circle back to your lack of maturity. You have great power, Tamamo. You misused it. You acted like a petulant child. Therefore, your punishment…."

"My punishment?" Tamamo asked, her voice growing higher. The Dark God and Ilias were also getting taller.

Tamamo was confused. She looked at her body, at her tails. Everything was smaller.

"What did you do to me, mommy?" Tamamo asked plaintively.

"I have simply given you a form more appropriate to your maturity level," Alipheese answered.

"You…. Sealed me? But mommy! Now I'm like that pathetic Tamamo! You've made me weak! Waaaahhhhhh!!!!!"

Tamamo burst into tears. The tears soon transformed into a temper tantrum as Alipheese and Ilias stood impassively.

After a few minutes of lying on her back and kicking and screaming, the Dark God said, "Are you finished?"

"Yeah(sob). How long do I have to stay this way?"

"Until you are worthy to be returned to your true form," Alipheese answered. "I think five thousand years should be long enough."

"Five thousand?! Five thousand?! What am I supposed to do for five thousand years in this pathetic body?!"

"You're still pretty strong, Tamamo," Ilias noted. "You could do all sorts of good with the power that remains to you. The Paradox world needs you."

"That world already has a pathetic, itty bitty Tamamo!"

"No, just one," the Dark god corrected her. "You see, I informed her of my intentions towards you. Since returning to her true form would no longer involve looking exactly like you, thus causing confusion and a hit to her reputation, she has chosen to return to her true form, effective…. Oh, immediately. I would suggest you behave yourself upon our return to that world. That Tamamo is still quite angry with you, and now she's a lot stronger than you. In fact, I've put her in charge of your rehabilitation. For the next five thousand years, you will serve as her subordinate."

The temper tantrum resumed with renewed ferocity. Alipheese turned and walked away with Ilias, leaving her to her tantrum until the Dark God would return her to the Paradox world.

"So what will you do with your own wayward child?" the Dark God asked.

"I think I'll do pretty much what you did, minus the loli form," Ilias answered. "Having had to endure a form like that for a few months, I can't even bear the thought of putting Sariela through that for even one year, much less five thousand. No, I think I'll just take away most of her power and make her start her career again as the lowliest of angels. She'll need to unlearn all that viciousness, all that cynicism. There are some genuinely good girls up here. I'll be sure to have them train her, rather than my more sadistic angels. I'm afraid that I created a lot more than one Sariela-type. Most of my angels are a little mean."

"A little?" Alipheese laughed. "I guess we both have a lot of changes to make. Let us hope that our subordinates don't create any more such unfortunate incidents."

"Preach it, goddess!"

"So is there a version of me on this world you've created?" Alipheese asked.

"Nah," Ilias answered. "This world has so many gaps in it. I basically just created it to give Luka and Alice what they needed to rediscover their romance. If they'd actually made it to Remina while I was indisposed, they would have found no ruins there."

"Oh? What is at that site now?"

"A sign that says, 'Remina ruins go here'," Ilias laughed. "I've sorta been rendering a lot of things as they encounter them. No offense, but since this world functions according to my rules, I didn't create a Dark God. Why would I create my own equal?"

"True enough. I would do the same had I the power. I guess you've left the Paradox World to me. It's only fair that I leave this 'Easy Mode' world to you."

"Well, it's not Easy Mode anymore. I'm taking everybody off Easy Mode. They need to be able to defend themselves should off world troublemakers come here in the future."

"A wise decision from a wise goddess," Alipheese said.

"Aw, you're such a sweetie! Why did we ever fight?" Ilias asked. "That's a rhetorical question. I'm just glad we're on better terms now. Although I'd imagine each of us having our own world doesn't hurt. You promise never do oppress the humans over there?"

"As long as you continue to treat the monsters well on this world."

"Oh, I plan to treat them very well," Ilias said. "They'll be the best fed monsters in any universe!"

"You're going to feed them all by yourself? How…. Perverted! I like it!"

"Oh, I won't be alone," Ilias assured her. "Many of my other angels are intrigued. I'll give them all the power to turn themselves into delicious males. Getting monsters to not hunt humans is going to take time. Keeping them well fed will help in the short run. Myself and my angels will descend to the surface in human form frequently to be prey."

"I'm impressed by your dedication, Ilias. Well, I shall go retrieve my naughty little fox. She shall not trouble you again, of that I can assure you. You keep your equally naughty angel under control."

"Oh, she's already tasted pleasure," Ilias said evilly. "She'll be one of my first volunteers. I wonder who I should feed her to first? Bwahahahaha!!!"